GAME REPORT

BC Kyiv have beaten the odds and booked a place in the EuroChallenge Quarter-Finals after winning at Galatasaray Café Crown.

Tuesday's triumph lifted the Ukrainian team to 4-1 in Top 16 Group J while dropping Galatasaray to 1-4.

Georgian Manuchar Markoishvili, an import who did not leave in the recent Kyiv purge of several foreign players after their Cup of Ukraine defeat to Azovmash, led the way with 23 points against Gala.

Playing in front of their own fans in Istanbul, Galatasaray needed a win to keep their hopes of progressing alive and when Polat Kocaoglu drilled a three-pointer late in the third quarter they led 60-58.

Vyacheslav Kravtsov dunked to knot the game at 60-60 with 10 minutes to go for Kyiv and the Ukrainian team then got a Markoishvili three-ball at the start of the fourth.

Those two baskets came at the beginning of a 12-0 run that was capped by a jump shot from Ukraine international Artur Drozdov (18 pts, 8 rbs) for a 70-60 lead midway through the fourth period.

Galatasaray got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Oleg Saltovets, one of those who has enjoyed a dramatic increase in playing time following the departures of Scoonie Penn, Brindley Wright, Kenan Bajramovic, Jovo Stanojevic, Goran Jeretin and Clay Tucker, finished with 14 points and six rebounds for Kyiv.